WEST EDINBURGH BOWLING ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION AND RULES
I. NAME
The Association shall be called the West Edinburgh Bowling Association
II. OBJECT
- To foster and promote the game of bowls in the Western District of Edinburgh and more especially to promote good fellowship among the members of the clubs in membership.
- To organise and conduct the League Championship and other competitions which shall be confined to clubs in membership and may consist of one or more divisions.
- To have a social Function and Presentation of Prizes to be arranged by the Committee.
lll. MEMBERSHIP
- Membership of the Association shall be confined to Clubs who are in membership at the time of the approval of this Constitution and Rules and such other clubs with a private green situated in Edinburgh who may be admitted to the Association at the Annual General Meeting or at a Special Meeting called for that purpose. Applications must be on the table long enough to allow each club to be notified at least 14 days prior to the meeting.
- Each club is requested to set aside dates as agreed by the committee in order that our Annual competitions for Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours can be carried out, which may mean asking for the courtesy of the green for one or possibly two rinks.
- Each club will be asked to nominate players to take part in representative games played by the Association.
IV. ADMINISTRATION
- The business of the Association shall be conducted by a Representative Committee consisting of two delegates from each club. Each club will have one vote only at meetings. The President shall have a casting vote.
- The Representative Committee shall elect a President and a Vice President at each A.G.M. who will serve for one year. The retiring President will serve on the committee as immediate Past President for one year. A Secretary, a Treasurer and a Match Secretary will also be elected annually. These offices are to be eligible for re-election annually.
- Representatives of eight (8) clubs in membership shall form a quorum.
- The Annual General Meeting will usually be held on the second Tuesday of March each year.
- The Treasurer will operate a bank account in the name of the association.
V. AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION AND RULES
- Alterations in or additions to all or any section of the Constitution and Rules shall be made only at the Annual General Meeting or any Special Meeting of the Representatives Committee called for that purpose.
- Notice in writing of the terms of any alterations or additions proposed to be made in the Constitution and Rules must be in the hands of the Secretary before the January Committee Meeting.
VI. LAWS
The laws of the game to be followed by this Association shall be those adopted for the time being by The Scottish Bowling Association. The Laws of the Sport of Bowls and any amendments made by SBA will govern any situation not specifically covered by WEBA Rules.
RULES FOR COMPETITIONS
I. LEAGUE
- Home and away matches to be played on League System 4 fours per side, 17 ends per game.
- Scoring to be by points, 2 points per four I point for the Aggregate = 9 points. The club with the highest points total at the end of the season adjudged winners and awarded the Trophy and a plaque (the latter becomes the property of the club).
- In the event of a tie between clubs on equal points the number of aggregate shots shall be taken into account and the club with the highest number of aggregate shots (i.e. the seasons total shots for minus total shots against) shall be the winner.
If two or more clubs have the same number of points and aggregate shots a Play Off shall take place on the President’s green. In the event of the President’s club being involved the Play Off shall take place on the Vice President’s green. In the event of the President and the Vice President’s club being involved the Play Off shall be on the green of the Club next in order of President. In the event of a three way tie or more the Play Off shall be a Round Robin with scoring as per League Rule.Played on neutral greens, 4 fours per side,17 ends per game.
4. In the event of any person being a member of two or more clubs that person shall be eligible to play for one club only in any one season.
5. Should any club taking part in a match be a player short in one or more fours, they must abide by the SBA rulings; that the four which are short of a player lose a quarter of the shots scored by them.
6. In the event of a Club not fulfilling a fixture (rink or rinks not playing) their opponents shall be awarded 2 points plus 8 shots per rink not played. In the event that a club or clubs (for whatever reason) are unable to play on the due date, it is the responsibility of the team captains or their representatives to re-arrange the fixture and inform the Match Secretary of the new date.
The re-arranged game is to be played within 14 days from the due date of the fixture and any deviation from that rule can only be made by the Match Secretary or his appointed representative in his absence. In making a decision the Match Secretary/representative will normally consult with the Secretary and/or President or Vice President. The decision of the Match Secretary/representative will be final and not open to debate although a short explanation of the reasoning behind the decision can be requested at the next representatives meeting.
Unless overruled by the Match Secretary/representative, failure to play the game within the appointed time (14 days) will result in both clubs involved receiving nil points or shots for that fixture.
Procedure
As soon as a new date is agreed inform the Match Secretary/representative by phone and where possible e-mail. If a new date within the time limit cannot be agreed, contact the Match Secretary/representative by phone immediately and provide him with the basic reasons and the contact details of the club captains involved. Each club should then follow up immediately in writing, by post or e-mail, giving full details of their case.
The Match Secretary/representative will consider the explanations given to him and will make a decision based on the best interest of the league competition. The Match Secretary/representative may, in exceptional circumstances, decide to allow a short extension to the 14 days or award points to one club if he decides the other has been intransigent. He may ask them to play on a neutral green if theirs is unavailable or any other decision deemed suitable to keep the competition running smoothly and on time.
The Match Secretary/representative’s decision will normally be given within a week of the first contact by the clubs involved. As his decision can only be made on the facts available at the time, it is imperative that club captains send their written case to the Match Secretary/representative as soon as possible.
7. All league matches to be played on the Friday (and Tuesday where necessary) of each week during the League season.
8. Score cards are to be offered by the opposition Captain or his representative for random selection by the Skips or their representatives.
9. All games in August to start at 1830 hrs. All other games to start at 1845 hrs, or other such time as agreed by the Committee.
10. All Score Sheets to be forwarded to the Match Secretary on the night of the fixture. All clubs should retain scorecards until Finals Day
11. All players must be aged 16 years or over at the first game of the season.
12. Coloured polo shirts may be worn. The same colour and style of polo shirt must be worn by all of the team.
13. Promotion and relegation shall take place between the leagues. There will be 2 up and 2 down.
14. If 2 teams from the same club are in the same league, they must play each other at the start of each half of the league.
15. Stringing of the greens is preferable but not mandatory.
16. Mobile phones are not to be used on or within the vicinity of the green.
II. AUGUST TROPHY ( for reference only, competition dropped in 2007)
- Clubs may choose if they wish to play in the August trophy. If they do not play they cannot host any games.
- All Clubs that enter (one or two teams) will go into a straight draw. This will consist of 4 sections. The 4 section winners, clubs with the highest points total, then play off in the semi-finals, straight knock out, to decide the finalists.
- Final to be played the last Saturday in August.
- Games to be played 2 home, 2 away.15 ends per game, Each rink shall toss to decide who shall play first.
- Semi-finals to be played on the Vice Presidents and incoming Vice Presidents greens.
- Final to be played on the Presidents green.
- Scoring, 1 point per four, no (zero) points for aggregate. Maximum points possible 4 (four).
- Home clubs to send all score cards to the Match Secretary on the night of the fixture.
- League rules 3,4,5,6,8,9,11,12,15and 16 also apply.
ADVERSE CONDITIONS
DURING LEAGUE AND AUGUST TROPHY MATCHES
- If a match (all fours involved on the affected green) has played 11 ends or more the result will stand. If less than 11 ends have been played, the game would be replayed and would have to start from the beginning. The decision to stop a game would rest with the Green Ranger or the mutual agreement of both Team Captains.
- Should any match be cancelled through inclement weather or any other valid reason the fixture will be re-arranged and played off within 14 (fourteen) days of the cancelled fixture and the Match Secretary shall be notified of the new date.
All League Matches to be completed by the Tuesday following the last Friday on the fixture list.
- RULES FOR KNOCKOUT COMPETITIONS
Each club shall enter a Four, a Triple, a Pair and a Single in the Knockout competition.
Fours 2 bowls 17 ends.
Triples 3 bowls 15 ends.
Pairs 4 bowls l7 ends.
Singles 4 bowls, first with 21 shots declared winner.
The earlier rounds to be played on neutral greens within the association, the Semi Finals to be played on a green selected by the Executive Committee and the Finals on the Presidents green or other greens as agreed by the committee.
All rules governing the knockout competition, not specified by W E B A, including rules for adverse conditions, will be those currently in use by the S.B.A.
Any player taking part in the above competitions must have played in a minimum of three league matches of this Association in the current season.
The above rule shall also apply to any Play Off that may have to take place for the League Championship.
The aforementioned competition, shall be open to all Association member clubs, who may enter and submit players in the following categories:
Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours..
With the exception of the “Singles” clubs may substitute players throughout the competition, if required.
Substituted players cannot be re instated once substituted and will not be eligible to play as substitute in another category.
Host clubs for competition games, should ensure that required rinks are equipped with score boards, mats, jacks, measuring sticks and chalk. Scorecards ready for participants and the presence of an umpire (and marker in the case of a singles tie.)
Upon the completion of any tie, the nominated “Umpire” should check the completed score cards are correct and signed by the relevant skips / players and thereafter ensure the score cards are collected by the Host Club and sent to the West Edinburgh Bowling Association, match secretary, as soon as possible.
Competition ties, venues and dates will be arranged and promulgated by the association match secretary, Dates and venues will be rigidly adhered to, unless exceptional circumstances prevail and then it will be at the match secretaries discretion should any tie require rearrangement.
All competitors in the competition must appear at their designated venue at the appointed time. In the event of players failing to attend at a venue at the appointed time (and after 15 minutes has elapsed), the tie will automatically be awarded to the opposing player or players and they will progress in the competition
In the case of ties being cancelled due to inclement weather or exceptional circumstances, the umpire and competitors (who must be present at the venue, in any case) will arrange, at that time, a replay, to be completed prior to the arranged date of the next round of the competition. It will become the designated Host Clubs’ responsibility to have this information communicated to the association match secretary, as soon as possible.
The aforementioned rules apply to the WEBA “Knockout Competition” only and should be read in conjunction with Section 5 of the association constitution and rules.
